Baby Girl
by DesertCat
Summary: InoXShika oneshot. nothing can cheer him up like she can.


Baby Girl

ShikamaruXIno

**Well, it's a story. And it's about Shikamaru and Ino. That pretty much sums it up… oh; it takes place when they're both in their 20s.**

Shikamaru trudged down the streets of the village of hidden leaf, tired, dirty, and sore. He had just returned from a three-week long mission in Suna, which meant that his clothes were all sandy too. It was a depressing, late-fall afternoon. The air was chilly and the sky was grey; all the trees bare and leafless.

He shivered against the cold wind, digging in his pocket for the keys to the apartment that he shared with Ino.

Ino… there was something else to be depressed about. His wife was staying with Sakura while he was gone, so all he had to look foreword to was a empty apartment.

Sighing, he climbed up the stairs to the front door, sliding the key into the lock and turning the doorknob. He expected to be greeted by the cold, silent, darkness of an empty home, but instead the lights were on, the heater was running (full blast), and the radio was tuned to Ino's favorite pop music station. Also, the wonderful aroma of spaghetti sauce (mmm…spaghetti) was wafting from the kitchen, making Shikamaru's empty stomach growl.

"Ino?" he called closing and locking the door on the depressing world he had just come from.

"Shikamaru! I'm in the kitchen!" came the reply.

"Ino, I thought you were staying with Sakura." He said, entering the kitchen to find her at the stove. She turned to face him, smiling.

"I was. I just didn't want you to come home to an empty house silly."

Shikamaru's eyes grew wide, taking in her appearance. "God Ino, you've gotten huge."

Normally this would've put Shikamaru in the ER, but for eight months it had been a (relatively) safe thing to say.

"I know" Ino grinned, putting her hands on her swollen, pregnant belly. "Come and feel Shika, she's really been kicking today.

Shikamaru felt a smile spread across his face. He stepped foreword and wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his nose in her hair.

"Shikamaru?" Ino questioned worriedly.

"I love you Ino."

She smiled. "I missed you too." She returned his embrace rather awkwardly, because of her large tummy, and then gave a small gasp as the baby inside her stretched her muscles.

"Ino? Are you alright?" she seized his hand and pressed it against her belly so he could feel his child kicking.

He smiled again, and then almost immediately became protective and concerned.

"Do you feel okay? You're not dizzy or tired or anything?" he asked, looking at her seriously. Ino marveled at how passionate and caring the lazy shinobi could be when it came to the people he loved. Perhaps a little too caring.

"I'm just fine, thank you."

He frowned. "You're sure you don't wanna sit down? I'll finish making dinner."

"Really Shika. The first few months I liked having everyone fawning over me, but then it got annoying. I, unlike you, don't enjoy sitting around all day and having people do everything for me.

"Alright." He replied, putting his hands up in defeat. "I just worry, you know? I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you. Or to her."

Ino smiled momentarily at the words every mother-to-be wants to hear, then, giving her head a shake, grumbled, "Stop trying to get on my good side. Go do whatever it is you do, I'll call you when dinner's ready."

Shika shrugged. "Whatever you want, baby."

Ino paused as she began turning back to the stove. "Baby, huh?"

"I, uh, I was just trying it out."

"Hmm. Well I like the way it sounds. Try whispering it in my ear."

He leaned forward and murmured in her ear, "The water for the pasta is about to overflow, baby."

Then he got out of there quick before his temperamental wife could throw any large blunt objects at his head.

_Love hurts. Especially when the one you love is throwing pots at you. _

**I hope you enjoyed it. I think I made up the quote at the end, but I might have heard it somewhere before…**

**Anyway, I know this story takes place in late fall, and its winter, but that's what it feels like where I live. Just cold enough to be annoying. **

**Review please!! **


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